Deceleration signaling device



Oct. 20, 1953 s MANECKE 7 2,655,892

DECELERATIQN SIGNALING DEVICE Filed March 14, 1951 FIGI. Q

WITNESSES: Z?v W Siegfried E. Munecke ATTOR N EY INVENTOR Patented Oct.20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DECELERATION SIGNALING DEVICESiegfried E. Maneck'e, Mansfield, Ghio, assignor to WestinghouseElectric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application March' 14, 1951,Serial No. 215,558

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates :to 'signallingdevices, more particularly to adevice for audibly signalling the deceleration and subsequent stoppingof a motor shaft, and ithas for an object to provide an improveddevlce'of this kind.

The invention is particularly adaptable to motors for drivingautomatically cycled machines wherein it is desirable to signal thetermination of 'a cycle'of operation. In automatically cycled domesticclothes washers and dryers, the main driving motor usually operatescontinuously during the program of steps in the cycle of operation andis stopped at the end of the program, so that a motor provided with myimproved signalling device will audibly signal the end of the cycle ofoperation.

In accordance with my invention, a bell is operated by a centrifugaldevice, driven by the motor and effective during deceleration of themotor for audibly signalling the termination of a cycle of operation ofthe motor. Preferably, the bell is carried by the end of the motor frameand is engaged b a striker rotatable with the motor shaft and pivotallysupported thereon. A centrifugally operated weight also rotatable withthe motor shaft maintains the striker out of engagement with the bellduring full speed operation of the motor and moves the striker, duringdeceleration of the shaft, into a path intersecting the bell for thesounding of the latter. A further object of the invention is, therefore,to audibly signal the deceleration and subsequent stopping of a motorshaft in response to the speed thereof.

The foregoing and other objects are effected by my invention as will beapparent from the following description and claim taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, inwhich:

Figs. 1 and 2 are, respectively, side and end elevations of a motorhaving my novel signalling device applied thereto; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the centrifugally operated striker mechanismshown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Reference will now be had to the drawing wherein I have shown theinvention applied to a conventional motor Iii of the type employed forthe driving of automatically cycled clothes washing and drying machines.The motor It includes a shaft I I, having a pulley or driving wheel l2fixed thereto, and a U-shaped supporting frame [3. As the constructionand operation of a motor of this kind are Well understood, furtherdescription is deemed unnecessary.

In accordance with the invention, an audible signal :device, forexample, :a bell i4, is employed for signalling the deceleration andsubsequent stopping of the sh-aft 5|.I 'whenthe motor M) :isdeenergized. The bell M is preferably carried try the frame |3andis'soundedby a "centrifngally operated striker mechanism generallyindicated at 1-5 andirotatablewith the shaft ill. The construction andarrangementsis -such that thastriker mechanism :is imitated clear of the:bell l4 during full speed operation of the motor It and is positionedto strike the bell when the shaft decelerates through lower speeds. Theshaft rotates counterclockwise, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 2.

The centriiugally operated striker mechanism l5 includes an arm orbracket l6 which is fixed to the shaft H for rotation therewith in anysuitable manner such as, for example, by a screw ii. A pin i8 is fixedto the arm i6 and supports a striker l9 and a weight 2|, both of thelatter being free to move about the pin l8 at all times. The Weight 2|is biased to its inner position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, by atension spring 22, one end of which is clipped to an upstanding tab 23formed on the arm l6 and the other end of which is hooked to anupstanding abutment 24 formed on the weight 2|. The abutment 24 isshaped to engage the hub 25. of the striker IQ for moving the strikerabout the pivot I8 to the position shown in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 2when the weight 2| is centrifugally moved outwardly to its dot-and-dashposition, as shown in Fig. 2. A projecting stop 20 formed on the arm l6limits movement of the striker i9 inwardly and movement of the weight 2|outwardly.

The dot-and-dash positions of the striker l9 and weight 2|, as shown inFig. 2, are those assumed during full speed operation of the motor, forexample, 1750 R. P. M. The solid line positions of the striker I9 andthe weight 2| are the positions assumed during deceleration of themotor. When disposed in the solid line position, as shown in Fig. 2, thestriker I9 rotates in a path which intersects the bell Ill and,therefore, will ring the bell on each revolution as the shaftdecelerates to a stop. In this connection, it will be noted thatcentrifugal force tends to hold the striker l9 in its outer position atall times that the motor rotates. At a speed closely app-roaching fullspeed, the weight 2| moves outwardly and the striker I9 is movedinwardly by the abutment 24 which engages the hub 25 of the striker l9.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that I have providedan improved device for signalling the deceleration and subsequentstopping of a motor. When the motor is applied for the driving of anautomatically cycled machine, the operator is notified of thetermination of the cycle so that the machine may be immediately servicedwith no loss of time. It will be noted that the bell will be sounded fora short period of time during the rapid acceleration of the motor. Thisoperation will advise the operator that satisfactory starting has beeneffected and is advantageous, particularly in a machine where the motoror driven parts are not visible. The signalling mechanism which I havedisclosed may be very economically produced and is reliable and positivein operation. While I have shown my invention applied to a conventionalsingle shaft motor, it will be understood that it may be applied equallywell to other forms of motors such as multiple shaft or so-called gearedmotors.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various changes and modifications without departing from the spiritthereof.

What I claim is:

In a centrifugally operated signalling device, the combination of amotor having a frame and a rotatable shaft, a bell carried by the frameand radially spaced from the shaft, an arm fixed to the shaft forrotation therewith, a pin fixed to the arm, a centrifugally operatedweight pivoted on the pin, a spring connecting the weight to said armand biasing the weight to an inner position, said weight being moved toan outer position in response to a predetermined speed of the shaft, astriker pivoted on said pin, and a shoulder carried by the Weight andengageable with said Striker for moving the latter about the pin, saidstriker being actuated to a position wherein it clears the bell when theweight is centrifugally moved to said outer position thereof, saidstriker moving to another position wherein it engages the bell when theweight is moved to said inner position thereof by the spring.

SIEGFRIED E. MANECKE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,136,410 Crossland Apr. 20, 1915 1,150,130 Leitch Aug. 17,1915 1,260,862 Binder Mar. 26, 1918 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date3,641 Netherlands Oct. 15, 1919

